


you'll fit in one day

by My5tic_Lali



Series: you'll thank me one day [5]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Headcanon-heavy, Minor Violence, but then again what ISN'T speculation when it comes to back cover, only master and aced and luxu play big parts but the other ones are there too, set pre-Back Cover, speculation about pre-Back Cover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23833807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My5tic_Lali/pseuds/My5tic_Lali
Summary: “Wait!”Master turned, and saw a boy stepping out of the bystanders.The boy was already almost at his shoulder—tall, with broad shoulders that would only get broader as he grew—staring at Primum Ferrum with awe and want in his eyes.  There was something about him already that spoke to the commanding presence that he would develop as he became a master, maybe in the upward tilt of his chin or the unashamed eye-contact which Aced held.  Master felt a smile break across his face--finally, he knew why today was a special day.  Finally, he'd have all of his apprentices; finally, the future was within grasp.//set pre-Back Cover. how Master met Aced
Series: you'll thank me one day [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1097535
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	you'll fit in one day

**Author's Note:**

> (alternative title: strength of heart will carry you through blah blah  
> alternative alternative title: of course i meant to do that  
> alternative alternative alternative title: I've totally got this don't worry about it)

It was a big day.

Master knew it, from the moment he watched dawn rise over the parapets of his mostly complete castle. Master had been trying, not for the first time, to puzzle out the purpose of the adorable little cat-things which ended up guarding his apprentices’ unions, but once again, the pieces of the future he’d Seen were too few to allow him to make any progress. He had ended up creating some illusory weasels, which he couldn’t figure out how to dissipate, yet, but that was fine.

Master wasn’t quite sure _why_ today was a big day, but he knew it. His senses, honed after years of Seeing things before they happened, told him something was coming. Something good, too. He thought about it a bit more, mulling over his options. He hadn’t been to the docks and the little islands surrounding Daybreak Town in a while. And that calm woodlands, too—he should probably check up on those.

But neither of those worlds seemed _right_. He’d have to figure it out after breakfast.

Master left his illusory weasels pouncing around his attic, and headed downstairs. The sun wasn’t quite above the horizon yet, so he didn’t knock on Gula or Invi’s doors as he passed them, but as he reached the landing he blinked and Saw the two of them traipsing downstairs shortly after he started breakfast, Gula half-asleep and grumbling about the weasels. Master glanced back and saw he’d left the door to his study open. The weasels most definitely would get out, likely waking Gula and Invi in the process— _but since they are illusory, probably would’ve gotten out of the attic anyway,_ Master thought, so he just shrugged and continued downstairs.

Luxu had also been in the flash of a vision he had Seen, so he rapped five times on the kid’s door. There was an answering groan, but also the thudding of Luxu tumbling out of bed, so Master took it as a victory.

He was halfway through making some pancakes when Luxu stumbled into the kitchen, one hand scrubbing at his eyes and the other attempting to calm his hair from the bedhead currently making it stick up in all directions. “Morning!” Master called, but quickly turned back to the oven before he could burn the pancakes. Luxu muttered something that might have been a word, before sitting heavily down at the table and _thunk_ ing his head onto the wood.

“Master, did you know that—”

“There are illusory weasels running loose in the castle?”

Invi stood in the doorway, her scarf hastily wrapped high around her neck, her Keyblade in her hand. “Of course you do.”

Master gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. “They’ll disappear eventually! But not before—”

Gula stumbled in behind her, grumbling under his breath.

“They wake up Gula.” Master finished, and eagerly gestured them in, grinning. “C’mon, kiddos, need a strong breakfast before a big day!”

“What’s so special, Master?” Invi asked, as she dismissed her Blade, guided the half-asleep Gula to a chair, then came to stand at his elbow, with another pan in hand.

“I’ll let you know when I figure it out,” he told her conspiratorially, then spun around to look at the two bleary eyed boys at the table. “Can I interest you in breakfast and a show?”

Luxu hastily sat up, and punched Gula to make him open his eyes. “Yesyesyes!” Master smiled at him from under the hood. He’d had started doing fireworks during mealtimes some time ago, and every time, Luxu was convinced that he’d be able to figure out the spell just by watching. Every time, he was unsuccessful, but it hadn’t dampened his spirits. Maybe one of these days, Master would take pity on him, and take him to some deserted world to actually learn the fireworks.

But even as the thought entered Master’s head, he blinked and Saw a flash of Luxu, gleeful smile spread across his face, showing off some fireworks to a group of villagers, and promptly catching his cloak on fire. Self-taught it was, then.

With his rapt audience, and the secretly smiling Invi behind him, Master started with just a purple spark. Flickering between one finger to the other, then he tossed it and it zoomed past Gula’s ear, and out the window to explode in a small _hiss-pop_. Luxu gasped, only to flinch as the small firework froze, re-formed into a sparkle, and looped back inside, whizzing straight past his head. Even Invi stepped closer at that. Master made a mental note to use more Time magic for these things—putting something back together was just as cool as blowing it up, after all.

He set off one or two red fireworks in his palm, to accentuate his perfect flip of a pancake with his other hand. Man, he was good. The kids cheered, and Master tossed two finished pancakes onto the plates in front of Gula and Luxu. They didn’t touch them though, too busy grinning at the yellow sparkle that was drawing a figure eight over the table.

By the time Ira and Ava entered the kitchen, Master had four mini fireworks sparking and popping around the room—a yellow one which Luxu was trying to catch like a firefly, a blue one exploding and reforming to Invi’s endless entertainment, and two taking turns whizzing in and out the windows. Ava yelled with delight upon entering, running right over to Gula to _ooh_ over the sparks.

Ira, for one second, tried to look disapproving. “Again? Can’t we just have a normal breakfast for once?”

But the wrinkle between his eyebrows disappeared as Master made a pink one explode in front of him, and he grinned too.

For half a second, Master expected Aced to come down the stairs after Ira, checking on the older boy’s reaction before smiling too. But then he realized why Aced wouldn’t be there, and excitement seized him.

“That’s why today’s a big day!” Master said, making a bear-shaped firework explode in the doorway. “Get ready for—”

“Master!” Ira interrupted him, rushing closer. “The pancakes!”

Invi turned too, and Master realized that the smell of smoke wasn’t just from all the sparklers. Behind him, a rather giant-looking plume of smoke was rising from the two pans he had been making breakfast on.

Gula and Luxu boo-ed, and Ava scrunched up her nose, as Invi and Ira frantically tried to magic the smoke away. “Ah, dang.” Master mumbled. He’d gotten a little too involved in the theatrics, again.

“Still, I gotta go out with a big finale!” He snapped his fingers, and the room exploded with light—each of his apprentices surrounded by particles of light, zooming to and fro and winding around them, until they all were drawn together as Master raised his hands in an arc, the orchestrator of a thousand sparkles.

Up over the table, the light exploded into one, final, white firework, the explosion absolutely harmless as it passed through the ceiling and his apprentices.

Gula, Luxu, and Ava burst into applause and laughter, and even as Ira turned back to him, sputtering about the pancakes, Master clapped his hands together and the smoke behind him vanished. “What mess?” he said, innocently, and the kids at the table let out another cheer.

Ira was torn between exasperated and impressed, but after a second, he just grabbed Invi and they sat at the table with the others. They were hiding how impressed they were, Master knew it.

“So, only a couple are actually ready, but get some fruit out, and, Ira, grab the syrup jar out of the hiding spot. Assuming that Ava hasn’t found it, there should be enough for breakfast. By then, more pancakes will be ready!”

“You never said why today was a big day, Master.” Invi reminded him, her voice somehow still able to cut through the pleading as Ava tried to get Ira to tell her where the syrup was hidden on non-pancake days.

Master turned back around to re-start the fire and summon some more pans. “Well, saying so would ruin the surprise! Presents are wrapped for a reason.”

“Presents?!?” That got Ava and Luxu to forget about the syrup for a minute.

“Of a sort,” he said, trying to pour batter onto the pan in such a way to make it look like a Heartless. When it turned out to be more of a turnip-shape, he gave up, and set the bowl down. “But you’ve still got lessons in the meantime!”

A general groan answered him, until he amended his statement. “Well, everyone but Luxu. He’s gotta help me.” Then his first apprentice cheered.

///

They went on quite the fieldtrip, him and Luxu. “Just like the old days, huh kiddo? Before I found Invi,” he mused, kicking stray rocks as they walked down yet another path between the worlds. No sign of Aced in the woodlands, or the desert, nor those cute little islands.

“I definitely didn’t miss the walking,” Luxu was dragging his heels next to him. He probably wanted to go back and set up the prank he and Gula were planning to get back at Ira for tattling on them the week prior. (Ira had actually been reporting on Invi’s knowledge, but they didn’t know that. All they knew was Ira had stopped them from making a new crater in the courtyard, and they needed to do something evil back. Invi told him their plan was to dump water on his head after he’d finally dried his hair after a shower.)

“Ah, but I did!” Master spun in place, hands behind his head. “Nothing else like it. No destination in mind, no hurry…”

“No hurry except when we run into another group of pirates you’ve offended, and we have to flee for our lives,” Luxu mumbled back, and Master pretended not to hear him. “Yep, just perfect.”

“So what’s the present?” Luxu finally asked, as they crested a hill and surveyed the new world before them. The sun was slowly setting, casting long shadows reaching up the hill toward them. “I know, I know it’s a secret, but you can tell me!”

“I know, Luxu,” Master said, and was suddenly glad he had his hood up. He couldn’t quite bring himself to smile. “I always know I can count on you, kiddo.”

///

Master knew it was the right place when the Heartless showed up. It had been a while since he’d been able to swoop in and save some unsuspecting pedestrians from the yellow eyes and black claws, so Master couldn’t help his excitement when he heard the scream and saw the black smog of the Heartless manifesting.

And, they were even in a crowded square! Perfect for salvation and a show.

“Ready, Luxu?” Master said, nonchalantly, as Luxu gasped in surprise at seeing Heartless here. “Get your Keyblade up, that’s my boy, just slash and block. Try some new combos! But no fire magic.”

His apprentice took a steadying breath, then nodded. His Keyblade soon joined Master’s in beating back the Heartless swarm.

There certainly were a lot of them, Master realized, looking around the panicked crowd. A couple Large Bodies had managed to topple a few columns and Master just managed to grab a woman before she was crushed by the marble ceiling. The street was rapidly disintegrating into pandemonium, and Master knew he had to take control.

With a snap of his fingers, one Large Body froze where it stood, and Master sent the other one flying with a strike from his Blade. A swift spell, and Master flew up into the air, to dispatch a few flying Heartless and to yell at the crowd: “Everyone remain calm! Your friendly, non-neighborhood Keybearers are here, and we’ll have this all sorted out in a jiffy! Grab your gyro and settle in for a show, my friends!”

Master froze two more Heartless with a couple flourishes, and swooped down to contain all the Heartless away from the bystanders. “Please keep your yells of praise and admiration for after the show,” he said to a couple of them, as he stabbed a Shadow before it could slice them.

He’d managed to calm the stampede just enough. People had stopped running, and instead stood a safe distance away as Master stepped this way and that, scattering Heartless into black mist with casual swings. A few of them even looked pretty impressed—there was a Coliseum on this world, Master remembered. Keybearers would always do pretty well there.

Taking advantage of a relative scarcity of Heartless, Master turned to the townspeople. “Now, next time these beasties show up, just remember a simple acronym: CAKAJRYFI! It stands for Call a Keybearer And Just Run, You—”

But he was stopped when his apprentice screamed, and Master spun, all joviality gone from his heart and Primum Ferrum rising subconsciously.

The Large Body had broken free of the Stop spell, and stood over Luxu, about to crush the kid.

Within the span of a single heartbeat, Master cast a spell and sprinted over.

The Large Body scattered into nothingness, and Master scooped Luxu up off the ground, setting him down and scanning him for any injuries. But there was only a stark, frozen look in his eyes, until he blinked, and Luxu threw his arms around Master’s middle.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

The Heartless were gone, but the crowd remained, looking at the slowly settling chaos of their city square. Master took another breath, then raised his voice, and looked back at the people. “Actually, you don’t need to remember the acronym. I forgot there are kiddos in the audience.” There were a few shocked chuckles from the crowd, meaning they were convinced that Master knew what he was doing.

“Welp, best be off before anyone comes yelling at me for property damage,” Master gave an apologetic wave of his hand. “Watch out for them Heartless!”

“Wait!”

Master turned, and saw a boy stepping out of the bystanders.

The boy was already almost at his shoulder—tall, with broad shoulders that would only get broader as he grew—staring at Primum Ferrum with awe and want in his eyes. There was something about him already that spoke to the commanding presence that he would develop as he became a master, maybe in the upward tilt of his chin or the unashamed eye-contact which Aced held, after his fascination with Master’s Keyblade had ended. Aced stepped easily over the rubble that decorated the street, and approached Master. As he made eye contact, Master blinked, and his left eye immediately flashed to the future.

Aced gained more than height as he grew—the man who argued and hastily covered his disappointment before leaving Master’s office one last time was intimidating in stature and voice, but that only covered the insecurities that ran rampant beneath his behemoth frame. Aced was ready for the responsibility to be laid on his shoulders, both in experience and wisdom, but the mask over his eyes only hid the uncertainty in his eyes. That youth could be a leader, could sit at Master’s place on the table, but he himself would never believe it. He’d doubt himself and end up stumbling.

Then Master blinked, and opened his mouth to greet the youth, only to be reminded that Luxu was still grabbing onto him, and dismissed his Keyblade so he could lay a hand on the kid’s head. He could feel him shaking.

“That was a close one, little Lu,” Master said, slipping back into the nickname Luxu had long since begged him to stop using. After he ruffled the kid’s hair, Master lifted his hand from his head, only to watch his own black gloved hand trembling ever so slightly. _A closer one than I thought._ Even as he clenched the fist to avoid the shaking, Master found himself stuck on that moment when he thought the Heartless was going to win, too.

“That was—that thing—You saved us,” came a voice, and Master turned back to look, seeing Aced had come close enough to speak.

“All in a day’s work,” Master responded, waving his hand nonchalantly.

“Wha-what work?” Aced asked, stepping closer, and Master cocked his head at the fumble in his words. Aced was already so tall that he forgot he was still a teenager. It would take a couple years for him to get his tongue to cooperate, and then he would be a top-tier speaker. Ursus always got the best rallying speeches.

“Why, being a Keybearer!” Master said, trying to summon back the usual cheeriness which these scenes always inspired in him. “Are you saying you haven’t heard of us?”

“I-uh, no! I, I’ve hea-hea—I know who you are.” Aced said, easily caught off guard by Master’s accusation. He turned slightly red, never good with not knowing something.

“Oh good,” Master responded, stepping closer himself so he could shrug off his hood and look Aced in the eye. “For a second there, I was worried you didn’t know how awesome it is to be a Keybearer.”

Aced seemed a little confused by the vivid blue of his eyes, but quickly recovered, and there was a glint in his eye that Master knew meant he was hooked. “I mean,” Master continued, turning away to gesture at the wreckage around them, “this sort of thing is becoming all too common. Somebody’s gotta keep those monsters at bay. It’s weary work—thankless, really” Master added, aside, to one of the still gawking bystanders “—but it has its benefits. Adventuring, saving people, camaraderie, the works!”

He tugged his hood back on. A few whispers had started among the crowd, and while he really only needed Aced to like him, it would probably be good if rumors about him remained mysterious and cool, and not concerned with his unusual appearance. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

“Am I right, Luxu?”

The kid was still standing where Master had stepped away from him, curled in slightly on himself, but when Master said his name, he shook himself, and tilted his head up. He looked shaken, but as long as Master pretended it was all in the plan, the kid would calm down. As long as Luxu knew it was all in the plan, he wouldn’t be scared.

Luxu nodded back at him, then at Aced. “It’s uh, it’s really cool!” His voice lacked his usual luster, but it was close enough.

And Aced… Well, Master always knew he’d be easy to hook, but Aced practically ran back up to him, words tumbling out too fast. “Can I, I come—it sounds awesome, you’re awesome, I want to le-learn!”

Master held up his hands, grinning at his eagerness. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, there Aced. Are you saying you want to come join my super awesome team of apprentices and learn to be a Keyblade Master who saves people?”

Behind him, this made Luxu brighten up. The kid always loved getting new friends.

Aced opened his mouth, but after a second, the words seemed to fail him, and he just nodded harshly, once, eyes locked on Master’s hood.

“Well I’ll be,” Master said, a little quieter. “I’m honored you’d want to learn from me, buddy. It’s not all fun and games though, I hate to break it to you.” Subconsciously, he thought back to the frozen feeling which had seized him when he saw the Heartless above Luxu. “It’s a pretty hard job too. And oh, don’t get me started on the years of training and the setbacks and the disappointments… It’s not an easy path.”

Master waited for Aced to respond. _It’s worth it, oh Master of Masters! I’d do anything to learn from you! Nothing could stop me from coming with you!_ But the seconds dragged on, and Master took another breath. “It’s not, I’ll say it again, an easy path.”

“That w-won’t stop me!”

_There it is_. Master smiled, and clapped Aced on the shoulder. “I knew you’d understand, Aced.”

“Uh, but I-I-I’m uh—my name is Fidel,” Aced got that characteristic wrinkle between his eyebrows. Master would miss seeing it whenever he got confused once they started wearing the masks.

“Nope! One thing about being my apprentice,” Master told him in a whisper, “Is you gotta take a new name. And yours is Aced! I said it wasn’t an easy road. And you’ll have to come with me, right now, ‘cuz if I’m late for dinner again, Invi’s going to be mad at me.”

Aced just looked more confused for a second, but then he shook his head, and smiled. “Let’s go!”

He started walking, down the path out of the city. “Whoa, whoa, Aced, you’re breaking protocol! Master walks in front!”

Aced froze immediately, only to relax when Luxu started laughing. “He’s joking!” Luxu bounded up next to the bigger boy. “I’m Luxu, and I’m his apprentice too. Master doesn’t care where we walk. In fact,” Luxu said, tugging Aced down to whisper in his ear, “I usually have to remind him where we’re going!”

Sputtering, Master took off after them. “I always know where I’m going! It’s just not always the traditional route.”

Luxu rolled his eyes, and tugged Aced by the arm, falling back into his usual chatter as he led the way. He didn’t seem bothered by Aced’s intermittent and often slow responses, just asking question after question and telling Aced far too many details about life at the castle—it needed to have some surprise! But Master couldn’t bring himself to stop the kid’s enthusiasm, especially since Aced lapped it up, like he’d never had a friend before.

The frozen feeling in his gut remained, but only for a little while, until he saw how Aced’s face lit up as he was introduced to the rest of Master’s apprentices, until he heard Ava drag her new friend on a tour, until he watched Ira clap Aced on the shoulder and promise to “show him the ropes” until he found his footing in this new life. And then, no amount of guilt or foreboding about the future could stop the warmth of satisfaction.

Master had all his apprentices. He’d never Seen the future so close as it was right now.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: oh hey look who it is, back with another chapter after a year of inactivity whoops
> 
> but hey, what is quarantine for if not tracking down your muse with a bat and making it help you finish a series you should've finished last year and have wanted to write for like three years
> 
> .
> 
> Cool facts: Aced's og name is Fidel, from the Latin word fidelis, meaning faithful.
> 
> aced having a stutter was inspired by an anon on tumblr!
> 
> .
> 
> thank you for reading! i hope you all are staying safe and sane in these crazy times, and that fic in general is able to provide you some distraction and/or joy even as the world seems terrible.
> 
> (oh hey this fic isn't marked as complete even though all the apprentices are found... i wonder why...)


End file.
